Back to Zer0
by Aliceindeath
Summary: This is a continuation (part two) of my previous story, "Science and Asskickery". Gaige has a new boyfriend, Zer0, but can she balance saving Pandora, and ultimately, the universe, and still have time to go out for dinner?
1. Chapter 1

_**Gaige**_

The goliath's head fell off, and I knew the fun was about to begin. He started raging and yelling about how he was going to "rip my body to pieces." I started laughing harder than I should have. I ran, careful not to stray too far to lose its attention, while Maya came up behind him and phase locked him. I broke off the hold off the rats while Krieg jumped off the nearby roof and cut the goliath's body in half. I took a break after all the commotion, and sat down on a roof overlooking the smoking remains of the new, well, former, bandit clan. Axton, Salvador and Krieg piled the bodies in a heap and set them on fire, while Zero and Maya scavenged the area for ammo, health, money and any other supplies. I lifted my shirt, just above my ribs, to examine a gash in my side, about 4 inches long, and fairly deep. Goddamn Varkids. I hated the lot of them. I enjoyed making them into badass mutants and killing them. I didn't care what Sir Hammerlock wanted with their body parts, but hey I got to kill them and I was not complaining. I decided to put a bit of snow in a ripped piece of tarp from a nearby tent and applied it to the cut while I waited for Zero to get back. I sat back and crinkled my nose at the smell of burning flesh, but I was used to it by that point. Before long, Zero and Maya got back. It wasn't a huge area, so there wasn't much to explore. Zero came up to me and spoke, a bit out of breath.

"We finished clearing the place. We got all the supplies we could… but we'll still be short a bit this week. But we- what happened to you?" he grabbed the needle with a deep red liquid, almost like blood, and carefully placed the thin metal tube in my side, right above the cut. He was so precise and fast with his actions; like everything was calculated and thought out. And it was. Inside his head, it seemed like there was a small display screen, showing him everything about everybody. He almost never messed up. The whole relationship thing was very new to him. Being with another being for this long wasn't what he was used to. He was used to solitude and distance, but being with me was everything but. My wound healed instantly. I breathed out slowly. The relief of my minor bruises and cuts made my overall state a lot better.

"Thanks, I needed that."

His tone lightened. "You're welcome. Glad I could help. Just out of curiosity, how many bandits did you kill before it was all over?"

I smiled. "46. How many did you kill?"

He laughed. "57. I guess I win."

"I didn't know it was a competition. In that case, let the games begin." I winked at him.

My gaze shifted towards Axton. I felt for him, I really did. His wife left him and kicked him out of the Dahl military force. She not-so-subtly suggested he run away to the border planets, and he went AWOL and found himself here. He kept saying that it was his fault, which it was, but his guilt was eating away at him. We could all see it. Salvador, on the other hand, was born and raised on Pandora. All the steroids he used through his life stunted his growth, but he was still one of the most intimidating bastards I had ever seen. Maya had been controlled since infancy, used to scare the people of her home planet and as leverage by her handlers, the monks from the Order of the Impending Storm. She fled here to learn about her Siren lineage, and got sucked into this crap by Handsome Jack. Krieg was once a vault hunter, so we think, and is constantly struggling with his inner voice, and must strain to not kill the innocent. And my Zero… My Zero was an assassin for hire. He has no backstory. He just came here for a challenge, and damn I hope he found one. All these people around me were from broken homes, with tragic backstories, and then there's me. I'm just here because I screwed up, and yet these people have more hope and more happiness than I do. I have no real reason to be sad, and yet I've found myself more depressed lately. Axton says it's because I'm only 18, and I shouldn't go through this, but I know I'm stronger than that, and I know they know it too. I just have to show them.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Zero**_

I was worried about her. I knew that before all this, before us and before Pandora, she wasn't in this danger, this violence. On Eden-5, it was relatively peaceful. But she was forced into this, thrust into a world full of death and bandits, and Hyperion. She didn't deserve this life. She deserved something better. Much better. One where she could be free of danger and death, and create and build whatever she wanted. I craved a world like that for her, but I knew she wouldn't have it any time soon. I didn't want to lose her in the months ahead, and goddamn it I was scared. I knew she could handle herself, but her facing all this, at this age, was frightening. I didn't want this for her, but I knew she wanted it, to a degree. But, in some ways, that's what scared me the most.

Maya came up to me after the attack. "Hey, you ready to head out to look for supplies?"

I breathed in deeply. "Yes, I am adequately prepared."

She laughed. "You can drop the act. We all know you don't talk like that around Gaige."

"It was how I have spoken for a while. Old habits are hard to break. I try my best around her, but it isn't always successful."

We left the camp, looking around for supplies and health, or anything useful. I sighed. "We'll be short this month again, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do. You know, you shouldn't give all your rations to Gaige all the time. You need food too. Judging by how skinny you are, you need it."

"I have always been this 'skinny'."

"If you say so. All I'm saying is that you need your strength too. You're one of the most important members of our group."

I ignored her. It wasn't true. I wasn't. I knew exactly who the most precious person in our group was, and that was Gaige. No one could convince me otherwise. All the more reason to keep her safe.

"Hey, I think we got everything. Wanna head back then? See how they're doing?"

I nodded. I zipped up the backpack, not quite full, but enough to keep us going for a while. We would bring these supplies back to Sanctuary, and we would start working on our plan to take down the rest of Hyperion.

We got back to the entrance of the camp, and I saw that Gaige sitting on a ledge.

I went over to see how she was, taking an insta-health with me, just in case she needed it. "We finished clearing the place. We got all the supplies we could… but we'll still be short a bit this week. But we- what happened to you?"

I grabbed the insta-health, and gently lifted up her shirt. I placed my hand over her wound, and quickly injected the pink liquid. It healed almost instantly.

"Thanks, I needed that." She gave me a little smile of gratitude.

I smiled back through my helmet, but she couldn't have seen it, but it seemed like she knew. "You're welcome. Glad I could help. Just out of curiosity, how many bandits did you kill before it was all over?"

She smiled wider. "46. How many did you kill?"

I laughed. "57. I guess I win."

"I didn't know it was a competition. In that case, let the games begin."

I loved her competitive spirit. If we were going to be doing this for a while, at least making a game out of it would make it more interesting, and give her something to focus on. I smiled at her, sadly, but she couldn't tell. Not this time. She starred off, looking like she was miles way. I let her think. I was sure whatever she was thinking about was better than what was happening here.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Gaige**_

We headed back to Sanctuary, ready to give the relief efforts the supplies that we collected. We didn't have a lot, but it didn't matter. They would appreciate it regardless. I wanted this to be over, but I didn't want it to end at the same time. I liked what I did, and I felt bad about it.

Roland came and met us when we got back. "Hey, Vault Hunters. Did you have a good haul?"

Axton shook his head. From all three bandit camps, we only got about… let's see…" he sprawled out what we got on the table. "50 shotgun shells, 12 rocket launcher rockets, 35 insta-health's, 23 SMG rounds, and… 15 grenades."

Roland sighed. "The relief efforts will appreciate the health, and the raiders will appreciate the extra ammo. Thank you, you did good, guys. You deserve a break. Take it easy. We'll come and get you when we need something else."

I sighed. He said "when" and not "if". I didn't mind doing things for him. I liked it. But I pained me to see how much they needed help, and how short-handed they were. I walked over to see Marcus. I figured that if I wasn't going to do anything, I may as well practice for when I will need to do something. I pulled out my electric elemental sniper, and aimed it at the dummy's head. The damage was about 150k, with the bee shield. I shrugged. Not bad. With the bee, I could one-shot most of the bandits we met, but the capacity on the shield wasn't great. I switched my weapons a few times, just to test how much damage it did, and how fast I could reload it. I realized that I was pretty tired, so I shut my eyes for a few seconds. After about 45 minutes, I was done. I walked out of Marcus's basement, looking to find the others. I tried Roland's place first, but there was no one. Even Tannis, a more permanent resident of the HQ, was missing. I then headed down to see Scooter. Again, there was no one. Looking around, I didn't see anyone in Sanctuary.

"Hello?" I called out. "Hello!"

No response.

"HELLO?!"

Again, nothing. Just the echo of my voice, screaming back at me.

I kept screaming, but not a soul answered. I fell to my knees.

I heard Jack's voice. It pierced my ears, making me wince. "You're dead. I killed all your friends. I will kill you, but not before you suffer. You will be alone. Haha, bitch to be you right now."

I started crying. Sanctuary started to burn. Everywhere, it started to burn. I started running, but I felt frozen in place. I started burning too, caught in the fiery storm. I started screaming. It hurt so bad, I just wanted it to stop.

It hurt so much. It hurt. It hurt…

I felt pulled up, and then I was shaken awake.

I was still in a daze "Are you… you were… I…. he…d yo…" The person's voice started to fade out, and I fell back asleep. This time, it was a dreamless rest.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Zero**_

When I found Gaige lying in Marcus's basement, she was asleep, but crying and whimpering. I shook her awake, but she only opened her eyes briefly. When she slept again, she didn't stir, or make a sound. I picked her up and cradled her in my arms, and went to Roland's. I placed her carefully onto the bed, and lifted the sheets over her body. Her tears were still fresh, so I took a cloth and wiped them from her blushing cheeks. After I took care of her, I heard a soft knock at the door.

"She okay?"

I nodded, not turning to see who it was. "She just needed a bed, that's all."

"I saw her collapse onto the floor, and frankly, I was concerned."

The voice sounded familiar, but muffled. Something about its tone made me want to stay looking away. "Well, she's fine now. Thanks for stopping by."

The voice laughed. "Aren't you gonna turn around to see who I am?"

A shudder went down my back as I heard the words, and I slowly turned around. All I saw when I turned around was an Echo on the ground. The voice seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it. It must've been modified somehow.

"Who are you?"

It just laughed. "You want to know? Well, I'll tell you. I am the thing you should be most concerned about. Not Hyperion, not The Warrior, but me. Just me."

The Echo's chip exploded, a self-destruct mechanism, destroying any hope I had at tracing it. I was uneasy that night, even after she woke up.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Gaige**_

After I woke up, I still felt tired. I was thirsty, and my head was pounding. I racked my brain, trying to remember what I saw between my nightmare, and when I fell back asleep. But the memories of the early morning wouldn't connect together. It was like a "connect the dots", but having to clue which dots to link together. I sat up, rubbing my temples, and trying to focus. I noticed a burning smell in the fresh air, and saw that the smoke was coming from a dark patch on the floor, about 4 feet from the entrance. I knelt down, and swept my finger against the black remnants, and smelled ash. The smell of burning plastic was also faintly recognisable. I got up and brushed my hand against my tights, and left HQ to find Zero specifically, but I would have settled for any friend at that point. I headed to Scooter's, and figured that his redneck humour and opinionated comments on everything would make me laugh. The air was warmer than usual, with a cool breeze coming from the direction of Windshear Waste. I shivered slightly, and pressed on. I went to Scooter's, and found Scooter sitting by himself on a pile of tires.

"Hey. Where is everyone?"

"Up by Fyrestone. They left earlier this mornin'. Why d'ya ask?"

"Hm. They left without me! Argh, when they get back I swear I'm gonna-"

Scooter started laughing. I furrowed my brows together and spoke without humour. "Why are you laughing?"

He smiled. "Sometimes I forget that deep down, you're still that 17 year old girl from Eden-5."

The corner of my mouth twitched upwards as I tried, unsuccessfully, to hide my smile. I went back to the old pierce station where the fast travel station now stood, and waited. I thought about going to see them, but I didn't feel like leaving Sanctuary after my nightmare. Even though I felt terrified here in my dream, I felt more at home while I was awake. I was always a bit homesick for Eden-5, and my parents, so any sense of home I could feel was welcome, especially after what had happened. I sat on the bench near the new-u station and waited for about half an hour before I got up to get something to drink. I was nervous and sweating more than usual, even with the hot weather. I went down to Moxxi's and got a glass of cranberry juice. She didn't normally have any, but had some tucked away for me when I needed it. I paid her he 5$ for the drink and drank it slowly. I didn't feel like I was in any rush. Today, I wanted to take things slow. Even if they left Sanctuary without me, I was calm. Normally I would have been pissed off, but not today. After I woke up, I felt strange. I felt like there was something they weren't telling me. I thought our whole deal was to be honest with each other. That, if nothing else, was what tied us, and kept us, together through everything. I sat at the bar for a while. I didn't feel like moving, or leaving. I wasn't sure where I was comfortable anymore. I just wanted to stay in my own world, and wait for something meaningful to happen.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Zero**_

Gaige was sleeping when we left, but I knew we wouldn't get back till dark. I worried about how she would react, but I knew she would be alright. She was mature for her age, and she would find something else to do to occupy her day, like upgrading his shield regeneration, or giving him laser vision like she was thinking about doing. I knew she would be alright, but I wasn't so sure how I would be. Finding that echo was, admittedly, terrifying. I didn't know who would've put it there, and whether or not we had a traitor in Sanctuary. The thought of someone behind our closed doors wanting to hurt everyone there, including my Gaige, scared me more than anything else. If they were well equipped, they could bring down all of Sanctuary. I knew from experience that one person on the inside could make all the difference. I couldn't sleep that night, worrying about everything I had heard and seen that day. I promised that I would talk to her about it in the morning. Despite how much I want her to stay a young teenager, she needed to know about the future, and how it would affect our plans. I loved her to death, I really did. And I was surprised, as well as happy, that she didn't come after us. I sat on a bench at the center of town, thinking about what to do. It was late, and the night sky was getting progressively lighter, but I still couldn't rest. I knew I had to get some sleep before I could effectively talk about strategies. After half an hour, I drank some water with a sleep inducer, and fell asleep faster than ever before.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Gaige**_

When I woke up, it was sunny outside. It was rarely ever sunny in Sanctuary. I yawned loudly, and I got out of bed. I checked all the rooms to see if anyone else was inside, and I found that I was the only person up right now. Except Zero. He seemed to never need sleep. I walked out of the house without shoes, as I didn't see them being necessary. I looked at the sky, and determined that it was still early morning. I went back inside, and got ready. I put on my combat shoes, and loaded all my guns. I strapped them to my hips, took Zero's sword and left for Three Horns. I figured a little morning bloodshed would help sharpen my skills, as I hadn't been out of Sanctuary for a few days. I left Roland's place for the fast travel station, and left my friends behind. I used the fast travel station to get there. I would've walked, but I felt like I had to conserve my strength for the battle (however easy they may be). But something didn't seem right. The general atmosphere was heavy and the air was thick. When I got there, I found the place swarmed by Hyperion personnel. I had no idea how they could've gotten there without us knowing. Or maybe Zero had forgotten to tell me about that part when they got back last night. There were about 20 Hyperion grunts and 10 loaders. I charged DT with my corrosive type weapon took out Zero's sword and went in after them. DT took care of the loaders, and I took care of the personnel. It wasn't hard. My strategy consisted of throwing in a corrosive grenade and having DT pass a laser beam across the field while I stab and shoot people simultaneously. I can usually clear an area like that in 5 minutes, give or take a few. After the fight, I found an Echo dropped by the leader of the Hyperion camp. It didn't specify anything about their plans, but detailed a few minor ideas about how to distract the resistance. I couldn't help but think that they wanted us to be distracted while Hyperion planned something bigger. I walked around Three Horns Divide for a half hour thinking about what this could mean. I stared down at Zero's sword. The weight felt unusual in my hand. I'd never actually practiced with this weapon before, let alone take it out to the field. A wave of anxiety hit me when I realized that Zero would kill me if he found out that I had his sword. I cursed under my breath, and vowed to get back to Sanctuary before he noticed, if he hadn't already. I thought about our expeditions over the past few months, and all of a sudden it had seemed futile. Sure, we took out bandit camps here and there, pushed back against the rebels, but what did we _really_ accomplish? How did we _really _strike back at Hyperion? How did we hurt them, or even delay their efforts by more than a few weeks? We needed to get our asses to Jack before he gained control of the Warrior and "cleansed" Pandora. What we needed to do, first and foremost, was get to Opportunity. There, we could distract Jack long enough to get our forces together for the final assault.

"Shit." I muttered, looking at my watch. It was almost 8:30, and Zero definitely would've noticed his sword was gone by now.

I ran back to the fast travel station and selected "Sanctuary". I anxiously tapped my foot on the ground, waiting for it to heat up, knowing that when I got back, I would not be having a good time. The blue pixels surrounded me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Before long, I arrived at Sanctuary, only to see Zero, Maya and Axton waiting on the benches, staring at me angrily.

A/N

Apologies for the indeterminately long break from Back to Zer0, unfortunately, my life hasn't permitted me to upload as frequently as I had hoped. IB has no sympathy. Regardless, expect new chapters every week on Wednesdays, starting this coming week. Also, thank you to all the new followers for this story, I sincerely appreciate it.


	8. Chapter 8

_Zero_

I loved her. I really did. But holy hell she scared the hell out of me. After the Echo I found, I was outraged. How could she have been so irresponsible? I stood there in silence as Maya tore into her about leaving.

"You didn't even leave us an Echo! Not even a goddamn note! Given what's happened recently, what were we to think?! Honestly?!"

Her eyes were on the ground, arms dangling at her sides, defeated. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"To what, hm? Scare us?! Do you have ANY idea how worried we all were?! _Especially_ Zero?!"

"I'd rather not be dragged into this, Maya." I interjected.

"Well you are. You're her boyfriend, and you have a responsibility to her, more than the rest of us."

"I'm not her-" I stopped as Gaige's eyes looked up to me, her eyes welling up. I decided it would be best to not finish that sentence. "Gaige, can we please talk alone?"

We stepped outside and walked outside the walls of Sanctuary before we spoke.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she said to me, trembling slightly.

"What do you mean?" I asked calmly.

"You're not my what, huh?" she snapped.

"I didn't mean it like that… you know I didn't." I responded, a little irritated.

"What am I to you, then?"

"I… am not sure."

She rolled her eyes at me. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"

"I've never had… someone in my life like you. I don't know how to react."

"You told me you loved me."

"… I did."

"Do you mean it?"

"Every word I have ever said to you has been the truth."

"So then what's your problem?"

"I was worried about you, you know that? I am very much afraid to lose you. The very thought keeps me awake at times. It makes me want to go further, work harder. It makes me want to take on all the evil in this world, just to make it better for you. Don't you dare think I don't care about you, not for one moment. Doing so is an insult to my feelings for you. I don't consider myself to be something as unsubstantial as your "boyfriend", I consider myself to be your partner. Before you assume otherwise, please remember everything we've been through together, and then ask yourself if I'd be as heartless as to discard you."

I walked away from her, leaving her near the gates. I loved her, I really did, but sometimes she got under my skin, and sometimes, only sometimes, I couldn't handle it.


	9. Chapter 9

_Zero_

Sometimes I forgot that she was a teenager. I forgot, amidst the bloodshed and the murder and the death, the tragedy and the loss, that she was a teenager. She was young, naïve and in need of caring. She still behaved childish at times, and that as alright. She needed that release. She needed the ability to _be _a child from time to time, because being in this difficult world thrust responsibility onto you so quickly and so harshly. I don't ever want to hurt her, but she needs to know the truth. She can't afford to be immature though. I wish she could be. It's good for her to have her opportunities, but I had to make sure she was safe.

Suddenly, I heard the door to Roland's place open.

"Gaige! Oh my God do NOT run away like that!" I heard Axton shout.

I headed downstairs slowly, not making too much noise.

"Axton, I'm fine. I've always been fine. In fact, I've never NOT been fine." I heard her protest.

I reached the bottom of the stairs, and immediately swept her into a hug. "I'd like to please speak with you privately."

Everyone else filed out, and we were left alone. "Listen, Gaige-" I began.

"Zero, I'm sorry. I knew you didn't mean it like that, and I shouldn't have questioned it. I'm sorry… I get caught up sometimes, and I wasn't thinking clearly." She said, her head facing the floor.

I lifted her chin up with my hand, so she was looking directly into my helmet. "It's alright. You have the right to be in over your head. We all are." I said, softly. "You know I love you dearly, right?"

"Yeah. I know." She said, smiling. I could see the faintest amount of blush on her cheeks.

I took her once again into my arms. I think we should have a night to ourselves." I said.

"I'd like that…" she said, burying her head in my chest.

We sat on the rood, talking for hours about nothing. Talking about guns, about DT, about where she grew up. She told me about Marcy and how pretentious she was, she told me about how loving her dad was, and how much she missed him. She told me things she admitted she'd never told anyone else. The hour grew late, and we were both tired.

"Would you like to go back inside?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's getting kind of cold out right now." She said, shivering.

I held her hand and escorted her off the roof. I brought her into my room in the back. It wasn't much of a room, as I hardly ever slept, but it had a bed, and a closed door. Privacy was the only thing I really needed in a room. Privacy from everyone but her.

I led her into the center of the bed, and closed the door.

"Zero." She said, sleepily.

"Yes?" I responded quietly.

"I love you." She said, sitting on the bed.

"I love you too." I said. I was confused about where this was going, but I went along with it.

"I want you." She said, curtly.

"I want you as well, but what do you mean? I'm right here?" I asked, puzzled.

"I want to have you in every way that two people can have each other." She said, blushing.

"O-oh." I said, blushing beneath my helmet myself. "Alright."

She brought me down to the bed and laid me down, with her sitting on top, directly on my hips. She leaned down and removed my helmet and started kissing my lips, trailing off to my neck. I put my hands on her back, removing her jacket and skirt. She helped with the rest, and quickly enough, only a few pieces of fabric separated us from touching. She continued kissing my neck and face, and she gently removed the remaining items of clothing. I could feel the warmth from her body against my cold skin.

"I love you, Gaige." I said to her.

"I love you too, Zero." She whispered back.

In the moments that followed, I gave her feelings she hadn't felt before. I made her happy.


End file.
